High Court of Zambia - 2014

173 judgments
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Results. 173 judgments found.

173 judgments
October 2014
14 October 2014
13 October 2014
13 October 2014
13 October 2014
12 October 2014
Driver’s failure to reduce speed on a known slippery stretch rendered employer vicariously liable; damages awarded to plaintiff.
  • Motor torts — negligence of driver — duty of care to passengers; defence of inevitable accident; vicarious liability of employer; assessment of general and special damages; admissibility of unpleaded admissions.
9 October 2014
6 October 2014
2 October 2014
2 October 2014
1 October 2014
September 2014
29 September 2014
28 September 2014
17 September 2014
17 September 2014
Distress without court leave and locking out a tenant contravened the Rent Act; tenant awarded full value of lost goods, eviction damages and deposit refund.
  • Rent Act — distress for rent requires leave of court; illegal distress is trespasser ab initio — tenant entitled to full value of goods lost; unlawful eviction without court order — damages for lost occupation; bailiff liable to indemnify landlord where distraint irregular
16 September 2014
Caveator must prove a justifiable, enforceable interest; certificate of title is conclusive absent fraud.
  • Land law — Caveats — Lands and Deeds Registry Act: Sections 76, 81, 33 and 34 — Certificate of title conclusive absent fraud — Caveator must disclose enforceable interest and show cause to maintain caveat
2 September 2014
August 2014
Petitioner granted divorce where respondent's violent, unfaithful and abandoning conduct made cohabitation unreasonable.
  • Matrimonial Causes Act s9(1)(a)(b) — Divorce — Unreasonable behaviour — Physical violence, denial of conjugal rights, abandonment — Effect of conduct on petitioner — Decree Nisi; custody to petitioner; maintenance/property adjourned
29 August 2014
An oral accusation that the applicant is a murderer is defamatory and attracts damages where the respondent's denial is disbelieved.
  • Defamation (slander) — publication and meaning of words — ordinary‑man test — proof of damage to business reputation — assessment of witness credibility and failure of justification defence.
24 August 2014
Interim injunction refused where defendant pleaded fair comment/justification and plaintiff failed to show irreparable harm.
  • Defamation — Interim injunction — political speech — fair comment and justification pleaded with particulars — requirements for interlocutory restraint: statement unarguably defamatory, no grounds for truth, intention to repeat, and no viable defence — balancing freedom of expression and reputation — damages may be adequate remedy.
18 August 2014
Application to set aside originating process was res judicata; complainant should have appealed, not re‑litigate; file remitted and costs awarded.
  • Civil procedure — service of originating process — Order VII r.1 (amended) — alleged absence of electronic address — res judicata and abuse of process — remedy: remit to District Registrar — costs awarded.
14 August 2014
14 August 2014
14 August 2014
A later suit duplicating an earlier action and seeking a conflicting injunction constitutes an abuse of process.
  • Civil procedure — Multiplicity of actions and abuse of process — Conflicting interlocutory injunctions — Service on companies (s.200 Companies Act) — Conditional appearance preserves objection to irregularity — Order 14A RSC.
13 August 2014
Decree nisi granted for unreasonable behaviour; adultery ground barred by statutory cohabitation rule.
  • Divorce — Grounds for divorce — Adultery — Section 12(1) barring reliance after more than six months' cohabitation following knowledge; Unreasonable behaviour — violence and fear for life; Decree nisi granted under Section 41.
13 August 2014
Restitution of property granted, stay of execution refused, and respondent granted leave to appeal out of time with 30 days to appeal.
  • Restitution of possession; stay of execution of judgment; leave to appeal out of time; life interest in land; costs awarded to successful applicant.
10 August 2014
10 August 2014
7 August 2014
An unregistered ownership form from a local committee cannot defeat a prior certificate of title; interlocutory injunction discharged.
  • Land law — interlocutory injunction — American Cyanamid principles — certificate of title conclusive under Lands and Deeds Registry Act (ss.33,35) — ownership forms issued by unauthorized committees do not defeat registered title.
7 August 2014
An unpermitted affidavit in reply containing extraneous legal argument was expunged for breaching practice and Order 5 Rule 15.
  • Civil procedure — interlocutory injunctions — affidavits in support and in opposition — requirement of leave to file affidavit in reply — Order 5 Rule 15 (no extraneous matter) — expunction of inadmissible affidavit.
6 August 2014
Court permitted late registration of a memorandum of discharge of mortgage under section 6(1) where no injustice would result.
  • Lands and Deeds Registry Act s6(1) — extension of registration period — late registration of memorandum of discharge of mortgage — court’s discretion; requirement of no injustice; procedural remedy versus appeal/review.
6 August 2014
Bank awarded judgment for loan arrears and authorised to enforce third‑party mortgage by sale/foreclosure after three months.
  • Banking law — Loan recovery; Third‑party registered mortgage; Personal guarantees; Default, demand and notice of default; Possession/foreclosure/sale without further court order; Judgment for debt.
6 August 2014
6 August 2014
6 August 2014
Caveat cancelled: caveator lacked enforceable interest and failed to prove fraud; applicant’s title upheld and damages awarded.
  • Lands and Deeds Registry Act — caveat removal under s.81 — caveator must disclose enforceable interest under s.76 — allegations of fraud require high proof — caveat lodged without reasonable cause attracts damages under s.82 — certificate of title prima facie evidence of ownership (s.33)
6 August 2014
Court expunged plaintiff's unauthorised affidavit in reply for contravening procedural rules and granted leave to appeal.
  • Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction — affidavits in support and in reply — requirement of leave for further affidavits — discretion to admit extra affidavits — extraneous matter and legal argument prohibited by Order 5 Rule 15 — expungement of unauthorised affidavit — leave to appeal granted.
5 August 2014
Failure to comply with section 127’s attendance requirement for a juvenile’s parent/guardian rendered the trial a nullity; retrial ordered.
  • Juveniles Act s127 — mandatory attendance of parent or guardian — requirement to record inquiry and reasons if attendance dispensed with; Criminal Procedure Code s338 — review and setting aside of irregular juvenile proceedings; procedural safeguards in juvenile trials; Tembo v The People applied.
5 August 2014
Plaintiffs entitled to refund after defendant misrepresented agency and sold a property he had no authority to sell.
  • Property law — contract of sale — agency — misrepresentation and false pretences; recovery of deposit; burden of proof (balance of probabilities); interest and costs; leave to appeal.
4 August 2014
4 August 2014
Committal cannot be used to enforce a money judgment that does not specify the time for payment; application dismissed.
  • Civil procedure — enforcement of money judgments — committal for contempt — Order 45 Rules 1/3 and 5/1 — committal unavailable where judgment does not specify time for performance — burden of proof on claimant to show ability to pay.
4 August 2014
Statutory licensing breach did not void the loan and mortgage; contract enforceable despite penal sanction under Section 17.
  • Banking and financial services — statutory illegality — whether licensing provision (s.17) voids contracts — construction of statute — enforcement of mortgage despite unlicensed lender — unjust enrichment
4 August 2014
July 2014
31 July 2014
Whether a tenancy created to recover a debt constitutes business premises under the Landlord and Tenant Act.
  • Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act — applicability — whether tenancy created to secure debt is an agricultural holding excluded from the Act; Mode of commencement — Originating Notice v writ; Order 14A — dismissal on point of law; Effect of Section 5 notice to terminate.
31 July 2014
Certificate of title upheld; respondent unlawfully occupied with no lease, warrant of distress wrongly issued, possession awarded.
  • Land law — Certificate of Title conclusive (s.33) — Possession and fixtures (quicquid plantatur solo, solo cedit) — Ineffective re-entry by Commissioner of Lands — No lease, no mesne profits — Warrant of distress wrongly issued
31 July 2014
Leave to appeal granted to remedy a clerical omission; no stay of execution pending the appeal.
  • Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — Omission in judgment deemed a clerical slip — Right to appeal as matter of due process — Stay of execution refused.
31 July 2014
Application for payment into court refused because contractual mediation clause and joinder make mediation appropriate first.
  • Civil procedure — payment into court — interlocutory relief — contractual dispute-resolution clause — mediation then arbitration — joinder of third parties — costs in the cause.
31 July 2014
31 July 2014
Leave for judicial review denied because the applicant had a statutory appeal to the Minister despite respondent exercising public functions.
  • Judicial review — leave to apply — gatekeeping function — availability of alternative remedy (statutory appeal to Minister) — public body/public functions — procedural irregularity in commencement (Order 53) — proxy voting dispute at AGM.
31 July 2014
31 July 2014
Plaintiff's claims for libel, trespass and business loss dismissed for failure to prove claims and defective pleadings.
  • Civil procedure — Pleadings — Irregular statement of claim must comply with Order 18; Defamation — requirement of publication to third parties; Evidence — proof required for trespass and loss of business (tenancy, trading records); Default trial — proceedings in defendant's absence under Order 35 Rule 3; Burden of proof — balance of probabilities.
30 July 2014
Interlocutory injunction granted to prevent blocking access across government land; irreparable harm presumed in land access disputes.
  • Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction — access to government land — serious question to be tried — presumption of irreparable harm in land disputes — easement/title not determinative at interlocutory stage — strike-out application dismissed.
30 July 2014